See Anatomy of a Personal Injury Case ## 1-3 on this web site.

Depositions in significant civil litigation are routine and probably the attorney's best trial-preparation tool. A Deposition typically takes place at the office of the lawyer who initiated it. At the deposition, both lawyers can question the deponent who must respond under oath. Questions and answers are memorialized in a written transcript by a certified Court Reporter. When the deponent is a party to the lawsuit, the opposing lawyer is usually the only one asking questions; the party’s lawyer usually refrains from generating information unless there is a need to clarify misleading testimony.

Depositions have many purposes, key amongst them being generating information or leads from the witness, obtaining concessions, pinning the witness down on key areas of his testimony so that there are no surprises at trial, and obtaining confirmation of or inconsistencies with, as the case may be, testimony of other witnesses. The attorney deposing a witness has two significant advantages: (1) the witness does not know what questions will be asked; and (2) the attorney can follow-up on questions, which sometimes results in important information from an off-hand comment by the witness. Attorneys obtain the attendance of witnesses at depositions by simply sending a notice to an opposing party’s lawyer, and by serving a subpoena on a non-party witness.

Depositions, especially of the opposing party, can be crucial to obtaining a good settlement or success at trial. The deposing attorney should know what he hopes to accomplish before asking the first question – preparation is therefore essential. Sometimes, as with depositions of a defendant doctor in a medical malpractice action, preparing for the deposition may take many more hours than the event itself. A good trial lawyer will always be fully familiar with the deposition transcripts of any witness who may testify. At most trials the transcripts never leave the attorney’s briefcase. Every once in awhile though, a witness says something during the trial that is significantly different from his testimony at the deposition. If properly done, the confrontation of the witness with his own inconsistent words can be a trial’s most dramatic moment.